A retired administrator from Indiana University of Pennsylvania who focused her nearly three-decades-long career fostering student success has gifted $30,000 to IUP for its ongoing student success initiatives.
Michele Norwood, of Indiana, founder and the first director of IUP’s University College, made the donation to establish the Michele Norwood Professional Development for Student Success Initiatives fund. This fund provides financial support to enhance the IUP Student Success Infrastructure at IUP by supporting professional development for those individuals working on student success initiatives, including the IUP navigators.
IUP began its new student success infrastructure in fall 2023 in answer to IUP President Michael Driscoll’s call for IUP to prioritize being an exceptionally student-centered university. The student success infrastructure provides proactive, direct support to all students in all programs, at all levels, and at all sites and augments existing resources, like the University College.
The student success initiative is multifaceted and includes 18 frontline, full-time IUP staff members—navigators—who are assigned to individual students to proactively engage with them and their support network, staff, and faculty to aid in the individual student’s success. The infrastructure also includes an Advising Center and an emphasis on data and technology to streamline the use of common tools, technologies, and processes university-wide to holistically support students.
Strategic Advisor to the President for Student Success Paula Stossel leads the initiative; Vice Provost for Academic Success and Dean of the University College Amber Racchini leads the University College and oversees the advising center and the navigators.
“Dr. Norwood laid an important foundation for our ongoing work in student success, and this gift will help our student success team to stay current and innovative, to best serve our students,” Stossel said. “We appreciate her ongoing commitment to IUP and to our students.”
The University College was established in fall 2018 to help students find their way through existing academic services and resources and to supply outreach needed for success, including academic and success coaching, tutoring, and supplemental instruction. Although the University College has expanded its mission in recent years, it still houses exploratory studies, providing specialized advising, career paths coaching, and a comprehensive first-year experience course to aid students in selecting a major that matches their interests and skills.
“As founding director of the University College, I am committed to supporting the university staff that play a role in student success,” Norwood said. “The importance of keeping these folks informed of current trends and technology while pursuing professional growth is vital to the overall growth of the university. Making funding available for such professional experiences allows for university budgets to be directed to other equally important tasks,” she said.
Norwood retired from IUP in 2020 from her position as associate vice provost and director of the University College, where she managed the Academic Success Center, the Office of the Student Advocate, new student orientation and parent orientation, and Family Weekend, and supported faculty advising with the implementation of various online advising tools, working with faculty, staff, and information technology services on these projects. In her role as founding director of the University College, she developed the structure of the University College in collaboration with IUP’s academic colleges and faculty.
She was honored in 2016 with the IUP University Senate Award for Staff Service for her work.
She began her 28-year career at IUP in 1993 at the School of Continuing Education and held a number of leadership positions, including in the School of Graduate Studies and Research, as assistant and associate dean in the College of Humanities and the College of Fine Arts, as chair of the council of associate and assistant deans, and as an assistant director in the Office of the Registrar, all positions focused on student success.
She is a founding member of the Crisis and Response Team, was cochair of the university-wide Retention and Persistence Committee, served on the University-Wide Planning Committee, was a practicum supervisor for graduate students in IUP’s Student Affairs in Higher Education program, participated or led more than 15 search committees, and served as an elected University Senator for more than 10 years. She also served as cochairperson of President Driscoll’s inauguration committee in 2013 and was a representative of IUP with several Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education initiatives.
“I believe that my legacy at IUP can best be defined by the foundation upon which the university’s commitment for greater support for students was built,” Norwood said. “From my time as an associate dean to my role as an associate vice provost, the university’s focus on student success in all areas expanded exponentially. Work being done on campus today builds on this foundation and continues to improve outreach to students with the navigators. It is my belief that such a commitment to student success will result in the growth of the university,” she said.
She earned a degree in adult and community education in 1992 from IUP, a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a doctorate of education from the University of Pittsburgh.